Whether you are sitting down at a friendly home game or competing in the World Series of Poker (WSOP), knowing the official poker hand rankings is the first and most critical rule of the game. In standard poker, every player attempts to construct the absolute best five-card hand from available cards.
Royal Flush
5-Card Frequency: 1 in 649,740 (0.000154%)The ultimate unbeatable poker hand. An Ace-high straight of the identical suit (A-K-Q-J-10).
Beats every other hand in poker.
Loses to nothing.
Cannot be beaten. If two players both make a royal flush (e.g. in community card games), the pot is split.
Straight Flush
5-Card Frequency: 1 in 72,193 (0.00139%)Five consecutive cards of the same suit that does not reach the Ace-high royal level.
Four of a Kind, Full House, and all lower hands.
Royal Flush, or a higher Straight Flush.
The straight flush with the higher top card wins (e.g. 9-8-7-6-5 beats 8-7-6-5-4). An Ace can also lead a 5-high straight flush (5-4-3-2-A, the "Steel Wheel").
Four of a Kind (Quads)
5-Card Frequency: 1 in 4,165 (0.0240%)Four cards of the identical rank across all four suits, accompanied by one kicker.
Full House, Flush, Straight, and all lower hands.
Royal Flush and Straight Flush.
Higher four of a kind wins (e.g. Quad Kings beat Quad Jacks). If four of a kind is on the board, the player with the highest fifth kicker card wins.
Full House (Boat)
5-Card Frequency: 1 in 694 (0.1441%)Three cards of one rank matched with two cards of another rank (three of a kind plus a pair).
Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, and all lower hands.
Four of a Kind, Straight Flush, Royal Flush.
Compare the three of a kind first. For example, Aces full of Twos (A-A-A-2-2) beats Kings full of Queens (K-K-K-Q-Q). If the trips match, compare the pair.
Flush
5-Card Frequency: 1 in 508 (0.1965%)Any five cards of the same suit that are not consecutive in rank.
Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair, One Pair, High Card.
Full House and higher hands.
Compare the highest card in the flush (e.g. Ace-high flush beats King-high flush). If highest cards match, compare the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th cards sequentially.
Straight
5-Card Frequency: 1 in 254 (0.3925%)Five cards of sequential rank across different suits.
Three of a Kind, Two Pair, One Pair, High Card.
Flush and higher hands.
The straight with the highest top card wins. Broadway (A-K-Q-J-10) is highest; the Wheel (5-4-3-2-A) is the lowest possible straight with 5 as the high card.
Three of a Kind (Trips / Set)
5-Card Frequency: 1 in 47 (2.1128%)Three cards of the exact same rank, plus two unrelated kicker cards.
Two Pair, One Pair, High Card.
Straight and higher hands.
Higher three of a kind wins (e.g. Three Queens beats Three Tens). If trips match, the highest kicker breaks the tie, followed by the second kicker.
Two Pair
5-Card Frequency: 1 in 21 (4.7539%)Two distinct pairs of matching cards plus one kicker card.
One Pair, High Card.
Three of a Kind and higher hands.
Compare the highest pair first (e.g. Aces and Deuces beats Kings and Queens). If high pairs match, compare the lower pair. If both pairs match, the 5th card kicker decides.
One Pair
5-Card Frequency: 1 in 2.4 (42.2569%)Two cards of matching rank plus three unrelated kicker cards.
High Card.
Two Pair and higher hands.
Higher pair wins (e.g. Pair of Aces beats Pair of Kings). If pairs match, compare the three kickers in descending order.
High Card
5-Card Frequency: 1 in 2 (50.1177%)A hand that does not qualify for any pair, straight, or flush. Ranked by highest individual card.
A lower High Card hand.
One Pair and all made hands.
Highest card wins. If top cards match, compare 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th cards sequentially until the tie is broken.
How Tiebreakers and Kickers Work
One of the most frequent disputes in home poker games arises during tiebreakers. Remember these three iron rules:
- Rule of Five: A poker hand is always composed of exactly five cards. Sixth or seventh cards never count for anything.
- Suits Never Break Ties: Unlike some trick-taking card games like Bridge, poker suits (♠, ♥, ♦, ♣) have zero rank hierarchy. Two flushes of identical numerical ranks split the pot.
- Kickers: When players share matching pairs or three of a kind, the highest side cards (kickers) are compared one by one until the tie is resolved.
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